IOWA CITY, Iowa — Behind a 1-2 all-around finish by junior Ashleigh Clare-Kearney and senior Kelly Phelan, LSU’s ninth-ranked gymnastics team rolled to a 194.875-192.525 victory over Iowa Friday night at UI’s Carver-Hawkeye Arena.
Clare-Kearney didn’t post a score below 9.775 as she tallied an impressive 39.425 in taking the all-around crown, her first of the season and the second of her career.
Phelan was just as impressive posting a 39.300 behind four marks of 9.725 or better.
“With Ashleigh and Kelly in the all-around it really makes us a stronger team,” said LSU head coach D-D Breaux. “I thought they both did a really nice job tonight.”
The meet got underway with the Tigers scoring a 48.675 on the bars to the Hawkeyes’ 47.825 on the vault.
LSU swept the top-five places on the event as freshman Summer Hubbard led all scorers with a career-high tying 9.850. Clare-Kearney was just off her pace, finishing second with a season-high 9.775. Phelan added a 9.725 to place third overall.
Moving to the vault the Tigers took home the top-three places on the event as they scored an impressive 49.400 for the second straight week, while Iowa added a 47.900 on the bars.
Senior Nicki Butler and Clare-Kearney tied for meet’s individual event title, as both posted 9.925s. The mark was a season-high for Butler and just off pace of Clare-Kearney’s perfect 10.00 from a week ago. Finishing third was Phelan who turned in a 9.900.
In the meet’s third rotation, the Tigers tallied a 48.575 on the floor while the Hawkeyes notched 47.900 on the beam.
Phelan paced the squad with a meet-winning 9.900 effort. Clare-Kearney was nearly as good, posting a season-high 9.875 to tie for second. Sophomore Lauren Klein rounded out the Tigers’ top three with a career-high 9.850.
In the final rotation, LSU was forced to count a fall on the beam and scored just a 48.225, while Iowa added a 48.900 on the floor.
Clare-Kearney again led all competitors, claiming the meet title with a 9.850. Senior Lisa Rennie and Phelan tied for second with a pair of 9.775s.
“I don’t feel like we have hit our full stride,” said Breaux on her team’s overall performance. “We had to make some last minute adjustments to the lineup and I think that always leaves you a little unsettled. But the upside of that is that we are competing a lot of people and we are getting this team ready for SEC competition.”
Up next, the Tigers return to Baton Rouge where they open up their home schedule with a dual meet against Illinois in the Pete Maravich Assembly Center on Friday, Jan. 19.
MEET RESULTS
Team
1. LSU – 194.875 (VT ? 49.400, UB ? 48.675, BB ? 48.225, FX ? 48.575) 2. Iowa – 192.525 (VT ? 47.825, UB ? 47.900, BB ? 47.900, FX ? 48.900)
Individual (Winner plus all LSU competitors) All-Around ? 1, Ashleigh Clare-Kearney, 39.425. 2, Kelly Phelan, 39.300. 4.
Nicki Butler, 39.000.
Vault ? t1, Nicki Butler, 9.925. t1, Ashleigh Clare-Kearney, 9.925. 3, Kelly Phelan, 9.900. 4, Emily Ellis, 9.850. 5, Sabrina Franceschelli, 9.800. 7, Kayla Rogers, 9.750.
Bars ? 1, Summer Hubbard, 9.850. 2, Ashleigh Clare-Kearney, 9.775. 3, Kelly Phelan, 9.725. t4, Amanda Morales, 9.675. 8, Nicki Butler, 9.600. 12, Lisa Rennie, 8.100.
Beam ? 1, Ashleigh Clare-Kearney, 9.850. t2, Kelly Phelan, 9.775. t2, Lisa Rennie, 9.775. 8, Summer Hubbard, 9.600. 9, Sabrina Franceschelli, 9.225.
11, Nicki Butler, 9.125.
Floor ? 1, Kelly Phelan, 9.900. t2, Ashleigh Clare-Kearney, 9.875. t4, Lauren Klein, 9.850. 8, Nicki Butler, 9.775. 10, Summer Hubbard, 9.175. 12, Yvette Triay, 8.450.